"I think Michael Crawford realised, I think we all realised, once we'd gone the route of casting a very young girl, you can't really cast a 65 year old man opposite. Slightly different resonance I think. No, we weren't going to go there. We'd have Jack Nicholson in the lead"
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
About this Quote
This quote by Andrew Lloyd Webber is referring to the casting of the musical "The Phantom of the Opera". Michael Crawford was cast as the Phantom, and a girl was cast as Christine. Andrew Lloyd Webber is stating that they couldn't cast a 65 years of age guy opposite the girl, as it would have a different resonance. He implies that the casting of a young girl was the ideal option, as it would have a better resonance with the audience. He likewise discusses that they thought about Jack Nicholson for the lead function, but ultimately decided against it. This quote shows that Andrew Lloyd Webber understood the value of casting the right actors for the roles, which he wanted to make the right choices to ensure the success of the musical.
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